Ricketts point pinkies, a quick report.

[Sebb]

Went to Ricketts Point this morning. A mate who just bought a kayak and added electric motor got water into the kayak and sunk. Not sure what happened there. Lucky the condition was in favour. He got dragged back to the beach and recovered everything.

Me and other couple mates continued for another few hours 11:30am-2pm. Caught few pinkies between 20-25cm. Biggest one was 30cm. all on zman slim swimz midnight oil with 1/8 #1 jig head. Few times I just left the plastic on the bottom and the rod on the rod holder and fish took it. The scent makes a big difference. Wind got really strong and packed.

Btw, just after launching off the beach and heading to the markers, a woman snorkeling with a go pro filmed me and asked me questions like "do you know this is a marine park", "respect the fish", "get fish from fish market", etc.
I responded that I did my homework and wont fish the marine park, only paddling through and fish outside the marine park markers amongst other people on kayak and boats. Following the rules and laws. Seemed we understood each other. No dramas.

[e.welch]

good on you seb

[croe04]

Not bad Seb. Shame you couldn't find some bigger models.
It seems like a fad has come about, especially people new to yak fishing, seem to like strapping electric motors to their yaks. I don't really understand it, yak motors seem like a pain and do more harm than good. Usually the batteries to power these rigs are either ridiculously heavy or ridiculously expensive, and people don't seem to realise that if the motors running and you fall off your yak, say goodbye to your entire rig, and good luck getting back to shore. Hope your mate's yak is alright though, glad to hear at least he was ok.
I've never had issues launching from ricketts but I usually fish just after sunrise so not many people. Good to hear that there were no dramas.

[mazman]

Nice work seb, if you use your sounder to locate the schools and set up the right drift you'll get a few more of the bigger fish than dragging the plastics, change of light is definitely handy for them too. The next couple of months generally has a smaller size class than the main snapper season but you can absolutely smash them for numbers at times.

Agree with croe re. electrics on kayaks really don't see the need and it adds a fair bit of risk imo

[wem21]

Thanks for the report, sounds like a nice day out

[Sebb]

Not bad Seb. Shame you couldn't find some bigger models.
It seems like a fad has come about, especially people new to yak fishing, seem to like strapping electric motors to their yaks. I don't really understand it, yak motors seem like a pain and do more harm than good. Usually the batteries to power these rigs are either ridiculously heavy or ridiculously expensive, and people don't seem to realise that if the motors running and you fall off your yak, say goodbye to your entire rig, and good luck getting back to shore. Hope your mate's yak is alright though, glad to hear at least he was ok.
I've never had issues launching from ricketts but I usually fish just after sunrise so not many people. Good to hear that there were no dramas.

Found out he bought the kayak second and added his own motor mount which made of heavy metal pipe. And 50 lb electric motor with 50AH battery weighs about 15kg. So the kayak was heavy leaning to right rear. Still unsure how the water got in, we're thinking there's a crack or the hatch not sealed properly.

Nice work seb, if you use your sounder to locate the schools and set up the right drift you'll get a few more of the bigger fish than dragging the plastics, change of light is definitely handy for them too. The next couple of months generally has a smaller size class than the main snapper season but you can absolutely smash them for numbers at times.

Agree with croe re. electrics on kayaks really don't see the need and it adds a fair bit of risk imo

Thanks.
Yup, I did use my sounder cruising between 7-8m water and every now and then saw a school of fish but always ended up with those 20-25cm pinkies. I need to learn to see/find a school of bigger fish. And yeah, should've gone more during the snapper season in Oct/Nov. Oh well.

[croe04]

Found out he bought the kayak second and added his own motor mount which made of heavy metal pipe. And 50 lb electric motor with 50AH battery weighs about 15kg. So the kayak was heavy leaning to right rear. Still unsure how the water got in, we're thinking there's a crack or the hatch not sealed properly.

Could be a leak from any sort of mounting or fitting required for the motor. The first thing i'd do is get some marine sealant on any fittings or places where drilling is necessary. Unfortunately a bit hard to diagnose unless you have a pool or something.
Also what yak is it? I've heard of a few cheaper yak models having massively incorrect weight limits leading to some sinking, a 15kg motor rig certainly doesn't help.

[Sebb]

Found out he bought the kayak second and added his own motor mount which made of heavy metal pipe. And 50 lb electric motor with 50AH battery weighs about 15kg. So the kayak was heavy leaning to right rear. Still unsure how the water got in, we're thinking there's a crack or the hatch not sealed properly.

Could be a leak from any sort of mounting or fitting required for the motor. The first thing i'd do is get some marine sealant on any fittings or places where drilling is necessary. Unfortunately a bit hard to diagnose unless you have a pool or something.
Also what yak is it? I've heard of a few cheaper yak models having massively incorrect weight limits leading to some sinking, a 15kg motor rig certainly doesn't help.

Says ORCA on the side of the kayak. I think it's one of those kayak sold at kayak2fish. Orca Triton or similar. Has the same brand logo and insignia.

15 kg is just the battery. The 50 lbs motor can be another 5kg+.
I wasn't there when he launched. He said the kayak was a bit awkward started but still okay, til water got in. The whole thing got into the drink, lucky he was already otw back to shore and was about 1.5m water.
Though he recovered everything, guessing the battery and the motor wont function anymore.

Now he's planning to sell it. Another mate on outback 2011 is gonna sell his too after used it only once, lol. Both wanting slayer 10 now after seeing mine.